Occupant retention equipment for rocking bed



April 28, 1959 J. R. GROSHOLZ OCCUPANT RETENTION EQUIPMENT FOR ROCKINGBED Filed June 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 wag i- April '28, 1959 J.'GROSHOLZ OCCUPANT RETENTION EQUIPMENT FOR ROCKING BED Filed June 5,1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent OCCUPANT RETENTIONEQUIPMENT FOR ROCKING BED James R. Grosholz, Wayne, Pa., assignor toAir-Shields, Inc., Hatboro, Pa., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJune 5, 1957, Serial No. 663,728

Claims. 01. 128-28) This invention relates to rocking bed devices forinfants and is particularly concerned with a harness system forpositioning and retaining an occupant against shifting under theinfluence of rocking movements.

Rocking beds of the type with which the present invention is concernedmay be used to assist in the breathing process of small infants in caseswhere faulty breath- To maintain the infant in proper position on therocking bed it is an object of the present invention to provideapparatus of a relatively simple nature which will effec- .tively retainthe infant and which is adjustable tov accommodate occupants ofdifferent sizes.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a readily adjustableapparatus which combines to maintain the head of the infant in theselected position and at the same time to prevent shift of the body inan upward direction toward the head of the bed.

How these and other objects and advantages of the invention are attainedwill be evident from the drawings in which- Figure 1 shows a sideelevational view of rocking bed apparatus incorporating the retentionsystem of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view to an enlarged scale of the rocking bed portionof the apparatus showing in greater detail the retention equipment.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through one of the head positioning membersof the retention equipment showing the supporting structure andretention clamp.

The rocking bed member shown in Figure 1 is illustrated generally at 5,supported for rocking movements on a pivot 6 which is mounted in lateralsupporting members one of which is illustrated at 7. A depending arm 8is located inside the support 7 and is connected by a connecting rod 9to a piston 10 in a cylinder 11. The complete rocking bed with itsmechanism is supported on a plate member 12, thereby permitting thecomplete rocking bed to be moved as a unit, and thus when desired therocking bed unit may be placed inside a baby incubator as illustrated inFigure 1. In this case the rocking bed plate 12 rests on the uppersurface 13 of the lower or equipment unit 14 of the incubator. Thecomplete rocking bed is mounted in place of the normal mattress so thatthe infant receives the benefits of the rocking motion while it isinside the transparent hood 15 in the conditioned atmosphere.

The amplitude of rocking movement is illustrated in Figure 1 where theupper position of the head portion from the bed unit 5 is shown indotted outline at 5a, and the lower position at 5b. A rod member 16 isprovided with suitable clamping mechanism which permits the rod to bemoved either to the full line position shown for holding the bed member5 when it is not moving or the 1 to the lower portion of the diaperfabric underneath the rod 16 may be swung up out of the way alongsidethe bed during the rocking operation. The drive of the bed is powered bycompressedair or the like which is controlled through suitable valvemechanism such as illustrated at 17 (Figure 2). The valve is suitablycontrolled with reversing mechanism which delivers the air to thecylinder 11 to cause the rocking motion. The details of the rockingmechanism are not part of the present invention but are shown anddescribed in my co-pending application, U.S. Serial Number 663,772 filedJune 5, 1957, and issued October 15, 1958 as Patent 2,855,921.

The rocking bed 5 is equipped with a mattress 18 on which an infant 19,shown in dotted outline in Figure 2, may be placed. To retain the infantin position against either lateral or longitudinal displacement underthe rocking action of the bed, co-operative pieces of retentionequipment are illustrated. A fabric garment such as the diaper-likedevice 20 is shown extending around the lower portion of the infantsbody in normal diaper fashion. The diaper device is preferablyconstructed with a wrap around part, the ends of which are shown at 20aand 20b one on top of the other, and an extending part 200. This latterpart is proportioned to extend between the infants legs and up over thewrap around part. The parts are secured in this position as illustrated.Attached body, is a central strap 21 which extends downwardly to thefoot of the bed member 5 where it may be anchored by a quick detachablefastener 21a. Two additional strap members 22 are. attached to the uppercorners of .the diaper device 20 at the sides and each extendsdiagonally outwardly to the side of the bed 5 where each strap may beattached by a suitable fastener 23. This readily applied garment servesto hold the lower portion of the body against downward movement beyondthe desired position and also to some extent restricts lateral motion ofthe body. However angular movement, particularly of the upper portion ofthe body, and twisting is not suitably restrained by the diaper and itsstraps.

In order to restrain the infant against upward and angular movementsadditional equipment is provided. At each side of the bed 5, in theregion opposite the head and shoulders of the infant, a rod support 24is firmly connected to the bed structure. Supported by these rods 24 arethe positioning devices, each of which incorporates a cylindrical member25, made of resilient material such as sponge rubber which may bebrought into contact with the shoulders and checks of the infant withoutcausing discomfort.

The supporting structure for the cylindrical member 25 includes astructural core 26 to which is attached the upper flat supporting arm27. A slot 28 in the outer end of arm 27 provides the opening throughwhich the hand screw connector 29 extends into the block 30. Supportingblock 30 is provided with an opening 31 through which the rod support 24extends. A slot 32 extending from the edge of block 30 to the opening 31permits deformation under the tightening action of the screw 29 toproduce clamping of the block 30 on the rod support 24. Likewisetightening of the screw 29 by rotation of the hand knob 29a causes theshoulder of the screw to engage the arm 27 and clamp it down tightlyagainst the block 30. Thus the hand screw 29 clamps in one operationboth the arm 27 on the block 30 and the block 30 on the rod support 24.

With the hand screw 29 loosened, the block 30 may be slid along the rodsupport 24 or pivoted with respect to it and at the same time the beam27 may be slid in or out to the extent of slot 28 and also may bepositioned angularly with respect to block 30. This quick acting clampconstruction therefore permits the arm 27 to be moved to properly locateeach cylindrical member 25 in the best position for retaining thepatient against shifting during movement of the bed.

With this structure the infants shoulders are prevented from movingupwardly beyond the cylindrical members 25 and the lateral movement ofthe infants head is restricted thereby preventing any appreciableangular shift in the position of the infant.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that I have providedrelatively simple and effective equipment for maintaining the positionof an infant on a rocking bed apparatus. By the use of the diaper-likegarment anchored by straps in the general manner described, the lowerportion of the infants body is restrained against undesired shift inposition, while still permitting free movement of the legs. The quickattachment fasteners for the anchoring straps allows the diaper deviceto retain the usual rapid change advantages. The fast acting clamps andthe universal adjustment structure supporting the padded cylindersprovide highly effective means for safely maintaining the position ofthe upper portion of the body on the bed device.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for retaining an occupant on a rocking bed including agarment constructed to extend around the lower part of the occupantsbody, a strap extending from said garment to the bottom of the bed,attachment means for fastening the end of said strap to the bed, a pairof laterally extending straps attached to the upper part of saidgarment, said lateral straps having provision for attaching to the sidesof said bed and adjustable bracing members attached to the sides of saidbed for engaging the shoulders of the occupant to prevent upward shiftof position.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which each resilient memberis in the form of a cylindrical element having one end supported on oneof said arms.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the end of each saidarms opposite to the resilient member is adjustably supported by meansof a clamp block mounted on the bed for longitudinal movement, the armbeing supported on said block for sliding movement in a directiongenerally transverse the bed and a handscrew in said block to clamp boththe longitudinal and transverse movements.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the end of each arm issupported by a clamping screw on a clamp block, a slot in said arm topermit movement of said arm on said block in a generally transversedirection, said block being supported for sliding longitudinal movementat the side of said bed, said clamping screw applying the clamping ofthe arm to the clamp block and also applying a clamping between the bedand said block.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the adjustable supportfor each arm includes a longi tudinal rod at the side of the bed, aclamp block slidably and pivotally supported on said rod, a clamp screwin said clamp block, said arm having a slot engaging said clamp screw toprovide for sliding and pivotal adjustment with respect thereto, saidclamp screw being constructed to clamp the longitudinal and pivotalmovement of said block on said rod and to clamp the arm to said block.

Baron Apr. 19, 1949 MacGregor July 5, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECertificate of Correction Patent No. 2,883,981 April 28, 1959 James R.Grosholz It is hereby certified that error appears in the printedspecification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and thatthe said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3, line 34:, beginning with 2. Apparatus in accordance strike outall to and including block. in column 4, line 28, and insert instead thefollowing, which comprises claims 2, 3, 4:, and 5:

2. A rocking bed incorporating apparatus for retaining an occupantthereon including a pair of arms each of which is adjustably supportedon sald bed in a position adjacent the normal location of the head andshoulders of the occupant, a resilient member attached to the end ofeaclrof said arms to engage the shoulders of an occupant to preventupward shifting and a clamp device to retain each of said arms inadjusted position, each resilient member being in the form of acylindrical element having one end supported on one of said arms.

3. A rocking bed incorporating apparatus for retaining an occupantthereon including a pair of arms each of which is adjustably supportedon said bed in a position adjacent the normal location of the head andshoulders of the occupant, a resilient member attached to the end ofeach of said arms to engage the shoulders of an occupant to preventupward shifting and a clamp device to retain each of said arms inadjusted position, the end of each said arms opposite to the resilientmember being adjustably supported by means of a clamp block mounted onthe bed for longitudinal movement, the arm being supported on said blockfor sliding movement in a direction generally transverse the bed and ahandscrew in said block to clamp both the longitudinal and transversemovements.

4. A rocking bed incorporating apparatus for retaining an occupantthereon including a pair of arms each of which is adjustably supportedon said bed in a position adjacent the normal location of the head andshoulders of the occupant, a resilient member attached to the end ofeach of said arms to engage the shoulders of an occupant to preventupward shifting and a clamp device to retain each of said arms inadjusted position, the end of each arm being supported by a clampingscrew on a clamp block, a slot in said arm to permit movement of saidarm on said block in a generally transverse direction, said block beingsupported for sliding longitudinal movement at the side of said bed,said clamping screw applying the clamping of the arm to the clamp blockand also applying a clamping between the bed and said block.

5. A rocking bed incorporating apparatus for retaining an occupantthereon including a pair of arms each of which is adjustably supportedon said bed in a position adjacent the normal location of the head andshoulders of the occupant, a resilient member attached to the end ofeach of said arms to engage the shoulders of an occupant to preventupward shifting and a clamp device to retain each of said arms inadjusted position, the adjustable su port for each arm including alongitudinal rod at the side of the bed, a clamp block slidably andpivotally supported on said rod, a clamp screw in said clamp block, saidarm having a slot engaging said clamp screw to provide for sliding andpivotal adjustment with respect thereto, said clamp screw beingconstructed to clamp the longitudinal and pivotal movement of said blockon said rod and to clamp the arm to said block.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of September 1959.

Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE, ROBERT C. WATSON, Attesting Ofitcer. Oommz'ssz'oner ofPatents.

